Why did David Ruffin, one of the most talented rhythm and blues singers of all time, have to die like a homeless junkie? While the official cause of death was ruled a cocaine overdose, his family has come to believe that foul play was involved. "David was a fantastic singer and performer." (Otis Williams) When the tall gangly, painfully thin ex-Temptation died last year, we lost a talent the comes so rarely. But even as the Beatles took the U.S. by storm, the Supremes dominated charts. Candi Staton sometimes revisits one of her favorite memories of her old friend. The last time Showers saw Ruffin was a week before he died. Police were searching for a friend of Ruffin's who rode with him in the limo to the crack house and later dropped him off at a hospital emergency room shortly before he died early Saturday, Lt. Thomas Fournier said. According to the Michigan Chronicle, rumor has long held that Ruffin caused Terrell's death by hitting her head with a hammer. Eight of them signed with Motown, six would join the DeBarge singing group at different points, and all of them had hellish childhoods courtesy of their father, Robert. Before joining Motown, Terrell worked for James Brown. I didnt have any idea when we started making this music to just have fun and make money that itd be so emotional for people.. Last week radio playlists were peppered with Ruffin's old tunes. "My Girl," their early 1965 breakthrough, was followed by a string of hits over the next four years. PHILADELPHIA, JUNE 2 -- Former Temptations singer David Ruffin collapsed at a crack house where he had gone in a borrowed limousine in the hours before he died, police said today. Street View: See the Place Where Temptations Singer David Ruffin Died 20 Years Ago Today. Jimmy Ruffin, Motown singer, dies aged 78 - BBC News The singers also dated, and while performing for Brown's label Terrell released the single "I Cried," whose title sums up her relationship with the Godfather of Soul. "Ruffin was no stranger to the demons of narcotics dating back to his peak years with the Temptations. Investigators are still trying to piece together the 50-year-old Ruffin's last hours. These rarely-seen pictures of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, autopsy, and funeral reveal the full story of the shooting that shook the nation in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. In reality, she died of a brain tumor. Age, Biography and Wiki. American Soul and R&B singer David Ruffin of the Temptations, performs onstage at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, June 25, 1982. Police Search for Driver, $40,000 in Singer'S Death His bandmates Otis Williams (no relation) and Melvin Franklin weren't surprised,since Williams had reportedly confessed suicidal thoughts to them before. This was a time of the British Invasion, and the slickly packaged Motown soul was about the only American pop music worth listening to on the radio. Blues And Soul Article: David Ruffin. But he one day admitted that he had a sister, Rita Mae, and two famous brothers: David, the Temptation, and Jimmy Ruffin, a Motown artist who sang What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.. David Ruffin - David Ruffin, the former lead singer of The Temptations, passed on June 1, 1991, of "an adverse reaction to drugs" and cocaine was found in his system. Motown's original headquarters on West Grand Boulevard more than earned its nickname: Hitsville, USA. Michael Jackson volunteered to pay for his funeral in Detroit this week, which was expected to draw a galaxy of stars from Motown's heyday. In 1983 the unglued singer moved back home with his parents. He was born in Whynot, Mississippi, to a family who had a little musical group called "The Spiritual Living Four." Ruffin's relationship with The Temptations was a stormy . The Temptations (TV Mini Series 1998) - Trivia - IMDb Ruffin, 50, was one of the original Temptations and sang lead vocals on such hits as My Girl and Aint Too Proud To Beg.. And for more than 20 years, she said, he had been addicted to drugs. The Mystery Surrounding The Death Of The Temptations' Paul Williams. It was happenstance, Williams says now, who initially found trouble in the city but later found solace in music, later founding the Temptations with its original lineup of Al Bryant, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin and Paul Williams. Advertisement. When he died, Ruffin, who was 6 feet 2. We who are left behind must not just clap our hands and weep and mourn, for he is out of trouble - you are still in it, said Nation of Islam leader the Rev. When doctors conducted further tests on the Philadelphia-born singer,. I dont want to get too hippy-dippy about it, but I felt like I was out of my body., They repeated the experience at Live Aid, and then Oates produced a song, One More for The Lonely Hearts Club, that Ruffin and Kendricks recorded for a 1987 album. David and Jimmy Ruffin, though, had their voices. Death After a successful month-long tour of England with Kendrick and Edwards, Ruffin died on June 1, 1991, in a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hospital of "an adverse reaction to drugs" - namely cocaine. His family believes his legacy was distorted by media attention on his struggles with addiction. David stayed over a couple extra days to pick up the balance from the promoter, Bowen said. The Rev. On May 31 of that year, dressed in Bermuda shorts, white sneakers, and a lime-green shirt, Ruffin climbed into a gray limo that belonged to Murrell, driven by a man named Donald Brown. [A]ll I needed was the right song for his voice, and I felt like I would have a smash hit record, Robinson once told NPR. On June 1, Ruffin collapsed at a crack house in Philadelphia. . Ruffin's death is listed as accidental. . But while she and Gaye always hit the right notes together, the partners in her private life horribly wronged her. Terry Pegulas ask was simple, direct and humble: The Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres owner, speaking in a recorded video message, asked fans, The national effort to shed a greater spotlight on what advocates believe is improper content available to children in school libraries has ta. Why Was Singer David Ruffin Kicked Out From The Temptations? Death He signed with Motown and released the Top 10 hit "What Becomes of . I was in shock, Murrell said. Ruffin was excited for new performance opportunities that were opening to him and sliding deeper into addictions gravitational pull. Disturbingly, he also forced Wells to terminate two pregnancies "because of [her] career." But there was something about his death from a suspected drug overdose over the weekend that she said didnt add up. Before the Temptations, he was hardly known. It was shortly before 3 a.m. on June 1 when Brown pulled up to the emergency room entrance to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and told hospital staff that his passenger, David Ruffin, had overdosed. The officer said a large sum of money in U.S. travelers checks was missing from Ruffin, though it wasnt clear if they were stolen. Temptations Singer's Son Murdered Family Member & Now Wants THIS Ruffin was arrested in the late 80s for drug possession, and went through rehabilitation. That simple line from the song "Music in Me" inadvertently captures the profound sadness of Jackson's upbringing. Certainly one of the greatest Soul singers of all time, David Ruffin was an enigmatic man whose own internal struggles and contradictions led to a tumultuous career, both as the lead vocalist of the Temptations and subsequently as a solo singer. A jukebox musical, based on their rise and told from the perspective of Williams dubbed Aint Too Proud (named after their 1966 signature Aint Too Proud to Beg) debuted on Broadway in March and later garnered 11 Tony nominations, winning for best choreography. That pain, according to the Guardian, drove Paul to drink alcohol. DeBarge's members were part of the larger DeBarge family, which included a whopping 10 siblings. According to the Michigan Chronicle, rumor has long held that Ruffin caused Terrell's death by hitting her head with a hammer. Feb. 11-24, 1992. In order to have shot himself, Williams would have had to angle his gun in an impractical manner. In the. In a final insult, Jamerson's Fender Precision Bass was stolen shortly before Jamerson died of pneumonia at age 42. However, her post-Motown career floundered. She fell on stage and collapsed into his arms, and was rushed to a nearby hospital with what was first diagnosed as exhaustion. David Ruffin from the Temptations doing one of his signature dance move on live television, 1967. . He was clear as a bell; we trusted him to stay there and pick up the money for us.. Thanks to Aba21 for this article. That gave him the money needed to support his habit. At the time of his death he was vice president of community relations with The Freedom Forum, an Arlington, Va.-based foundation "dedicated. Despite his death in October 2001 at age 51, Nate Ruffin's spirit lives with everyone he touched, just as his deceased teammates' spirits lived with him, his wife said. In the cruelest, most knife-like of twists it turns out that sometimes people who give the world immense pleasure have gone through a world of pain. 0. Best David Ruffin Songs: 20 Essential Soul Gems | uDiscover According to TMZ's report/em>, 48-year-old David Ruffin Jr., was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence early Tuesday morning. Ruffin, meanwhile, died of a cocaine overdose in 1991. He always told her he never expected to live a long life, she said. Things "got so bad that his stamina, his respiratory system started fading on him." My Girl was the bands first No. Beneath the glowing nostalgia of the old music from the old days is the sad reality of artists and audiences trying to capture something that no longer exists. Two years later, lead singer Diana Ross would mourn her brother and sister-in-law, who were found decaying in a basement after being suffocated to death. After Ruffin collapsed in a Philly crack house, his driver sped him to the hospital where the singer succumbed to an overdose of cocaine at the age of 50. Standout star El was intermittently homeless and had strained relationships with his 12 children. When the crack cocaine epidemic surged in the 1980s, government leaders responded with tactics that disproportionately criminalized and punished people who had addictions, particularly in Black communities. The Firing of David Ruffin from the Temptations | TalkBass.com Forty-thousand dollars is missing, she said. Thousands more filled the streets to pay tribute to Ruffin, the group's original lead singer, and to catch a glimpse of the celebrities who came to bid him farewell. He was released July 23, 2011.' WHEN HE LEARNED HIS MONEY WAS GONE He soon learned his cash was gone and confronted his sister, who admitted spending the money, he alleges in a court filing. You have permission to edit this article. Ruffin himself played the oldies circuit and had recently returned from performing in Europe shortly before his death. Police: Former Temptations Singer Collapsed at Crack House Before Death David, she shouted, slow down, for heavens sake!, I aint going to kill you, girl, he responded. In Ruffin's case, he wasted his immense talent and ultimately destroyed himself. He arrived at her familys house in North Carolina in an eye-catching white limousine that had been fitted with white mink carpet, accompanied by a large, white dog. He wasnt interested in trying to get us to sing, she laughed. Too sick to perform, Paul had to leave the group. Per OZY, during the 1960s it was common for record companies not to acknowledge background musicians, "but Motown's negligence was extraordinary."
